A pair of three-flame bronze candelabra
Fire gilt bronze/brass, glass droplets, white marble. Twisted candle holders hung with faceted glass prisms, with flower bud finials. H c. 73 cm.
Attributed to Berlin, Werner & Mieth, 1800s to 1810s.
The two Berlin based artisans Christian Gottlieb Werner (around 1751 - 1831) and Gottfried Mieth (around 1761 - around 1834) started out as model makers and embossers at the Royal Porcelain Manufactory KPM. They set up their own business in 1791 with the aim of running a "factory for bronzes and objets d'art", entering into partnership with the master metal caster Friedrich Luckau Jr. Their workshop was first located in Leipziger Straße, but they moved into a building in Jägerstraße in 1801. Their high quality products were intended for a wealthy, international, aristocratic clientele.
The company was organised according to the English model of division of labour, with cost-saving pre-production of individual parts. The purchasing public could either order direct from catalogues or request special commissions. Werner & Mieth became well known for their custom made pieces for the Prussian court, which they began early on in their career. Wilhelmine von Lichtenau, the mistress of King Frederick William II, had already ordered chandeliers and bronzes from them in the spring of 1793 and later introduced the two entrepreneurs at court. This introduction was followed by commissions for the royal palaces of Unter den Linden and the Winter Chambers at Charlottenburg Palace. Werner & Mieth were later able to recruit Hans Christian Genelli (1763 - 1823) and Karl Friedrich Schinkel (1781 - 1841) as designers, eventually maintaining warehouses in Berlin, Hamburg, Leipzig, Breslau and London and also delivering to St. Petersburg.
Research on Werner & Mieth was initiated by Frank C. Möller, who is currently preparing a publication on the firm.
Literature
Cf. Klappenbach, Kronleuchter des 17. bis 20. Jahrhunderts aus Messing, "bronze d'oré", Zinkguss, Porzellan, Holz, Geweih, Bernstein und Glas, Berlin-Brandenburg-Regensburg 2019, fig. 109, for the design of the chandelier by Werner & Mieth for the "Purple Room" of the residence of Jérôme Bonaparte from 1811, also with twisted branches and identical prism droplets.